Electrical circuit panels such as power distribution panels typically employ circuit components which generate heat. For safety and other reasons, electrical circuit panels often are enclosed within a housing structure. The heat generated by the components of the electrical circuit panels can be trapped within the housing and can impair the performance of an electrical circuit or even destroy sensitive circuit components. Heat buildup can also cause electrical fires. Therefore cooling systems are important elements in many electrical circuit panels.
Prior art circuit panels have employed fans or blowers to dissipate heat and ventilate the interior of a circuit panel. Such systems add significantly to the complexity and expense of the circuit panels. Other prior art systems have employed convection cooling by coupling the heat generating component to a heat conductor, called a heat sink, located inside the fuse panel which carries the heat away from the heat generating component. Typically, the panel encloses a metal bar or plate which is connected to the heat generating electrical component by a heat conductive transfer element. However, adding heat conducting elements inside the circuit panel increases the expense, complexity, and cost of the panel and impedes access to the circuitry of the panel during assembly, installation, and maintenance. Also such a construction is not efficient for heat convection away from the panel since the heat sink is located inside the panel enclosure.
The present invention is a circuit panel, such as a power distribution panel including a convection heat sink which forms a portion of a housing structure of the panel. The power distribution panel may include fuse holder locations in order to act as a fuse panel or circuit breakers or a combination of both. The power distribution panel is generally rectangular in shape with fuse holder locations, power input connections, and output connector locations disposed on a surface of the panel, all electrically connected via an electrical circuit. The present invention integrates a heat sink with a housing surface of the circuit panel to dissipate heat generated by a component of the electrical circuit. The heat generating component of the electrical circuit is coupled directly to the heat sink surface of the circuit panel.